Cowboys Starve, Bills Carve: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
By Richard Ball
A few observations from the Dallas Cowboys loss to the Buffalo Bills. There was some good, some bad and some downright ugly play.
The Dallas Cowboys lost their sixth game of the year on Thanksgiving to the Buffalo Bills. This time, the Cowboys started fast but then disappeared
The Week Thirteen contest against the Bills was like most football games with plays you loved and plays you would love to forget. Below we’ll breakdown the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the Cowboys’ sixth loss of the season.
The Good
Last week, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was roasted for his decision to kick a field goal down seven with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He must have heard the noise, particularly from his Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones.
On the Cowboys third offensive series of the game and last play of the first quarter, Dallas faced a fourth down and less than one yard to go from their 19-yard line. As the broadcast was cutting to commercial, the punt team was running on the field.
When the broadcast returned from commercial, the offense was on the field. Gambler Garrett was trusting his offense to pick up the one yard.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott weighs 238 pounds according to the team’s website. With the Cowboys offensive line and a relatively mobile quarterback, they were able to pick up the first down on a quarterback sneak and continue the drive. The drive eventually bogged down and Dallas punted.
Fast forward to the third quarter with Dallas trailing 23-7, Garrett decided to go for it on fourth down from the Bills six-yard line. A field goal would have reduced the deficit to 13 points rather than two touchdowns and two-two point conversions.
The play resulted in an incompletion when Prescott threw the ball in the direction of running back Ezekiel Elliott. The decision to throw to Elliott short of the end zone was flawed from the beginning.
It was good that the Cowboys coaches were willing to be more aggressive this week. It might have been the only thing besides a first-drive touchdown that was good for Dallas on the day.